Although 31 years have passed since the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989, Palestinian children cannot enjoy the rights contained in this convention in the shadow of the violations of Israeli forces.
The Palestine Branch of the International Movement for the Children of the Child raised the rights violations of Palestinian children by Israeli forces on 20 November, World Children's Day.
According to the data of the movement, which records the abuses of Palestinian children, 2,115 Palestinian children under the age of 18, 521 of them under the age of 8, have been martyred in attacks by Israeli soldiers and Jewish settlers since 2000.
In addition, since 2008, around 3,000 children, 500 of which are 12-15 years old, have been detained and tried, and some have been convicted and sentenced to prison.
While it is noted that approximately 700 children are detained annually with inhumane treatment, according to the data of Palestinian institutions, there are currently around 170 children in Israeli prisons.
Palestinian children denied their rights
Although 31 years have passed since the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child on November 20, 1989, Palestinian children are still deprived of their rights as a result of violations by Israeli forces.
"Palestinian children are deprived of the rights enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The UN and the international community are incapable of ensuring that all children of the world have access to the rights in this convention," Khalid Kuzmar, director of the Palestine Branch of the International Movement for Children, told Anadolu Agency. said.
Kuzmar stated that the failure of the international community to ensure the implementation of the convention led to the continuation of the policy of impunity and that war criminals who violated children's and human rights were not prosecuted.
"The rights of Palestinian children are violated every day by Israeli soldiers," said Kuzmar, adding that they actually violate fundamental rights and freedoms, and that Palestinians are deprived of many fundamental rights such as the right to life, education, health and environmental rights.
Stating that hundreds of Palestinian children are detained by Israeli forces every year, they are tried in military courts without fair trial criteria and are subjected to ill-treatment and torture, Kuzmar stated that dozens of children die each year in attacks by Israeli forces and Jewish settlers.
"They protected the settlers who attacked me when they should have been protecting me."
Palestinian Arif Jabir (17), who was detained by Israeli forces on October 30 and released four days later, described the detention process and what he experienced afterwards.
Jabir, who lives in Hebron in the occupied West Bank, said, "Jewish settlers suddenly attacked me near my house. I tried to defend myself. Then dozens of Israeli soldiers surrounded me. They started to beat me. They protected the settlers who attacked me while they were supposed to protect me." said.
Jabir said, "They laid me down on the ground, put plastic handcuffs on my hand and blindfolded me. Then they took me to a nearby military point. There they tied me to a chair. They waited for a few hours with my hands and eyes tied. During this time, I was beaten from my head and from different parts of my body." he spoke.
Adding that the Israeli police came and questioned him later and was taken to a detention center, Jabir said that he stayed there for 4 days with 4 children like him.
Cabir said, "The first three days they gave me only one meal. On the third day, they took me to a dirty cell underground. I had to sleep on dirty water. The fourth day I was released with threats and warnings." used the expressions.